Complete solutions for the Vending Industry

Vending

Materna offers complete solutions for the vending industry that support vending machine operators in managing, maintaining and optimally fitting their vending machines.

Our added values for vending machine operators

All services from a single source

Long-standing experience in the market

Data storage in Germany in compliance with the German Data Protection Act

International project support

Software Made in Germany

Individual support Made in Germany

Consulting, security and international projects from a single source

Vending machines for the non-food sector

The use of vending machines is quickly conquering the industry. Materna's Vending Machine Monitoring System (VMMS) can be used flexibly in vending machines in the food and non-food sectors. Offer your customers yet another way to access your products and improve your customer service in the process.

The German vending industry is currently on the upswing. In other European countries, such as the UK, the use of vending machines is already widespread in industry. Other conceivable fields of use are in healthcare, in the tool industry, in medical technology, for office supply manufacturers and in the automotive industry.

The aim is to optimize the ordering process between industry and parts suppliers. The purchasing employee can access the required tools 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without having to keep an inventory or go through long order processes. A vending machine is set up where the spare parts are needed and the goods can thus be bought or purchased with no hassle, e.g. by means of an employee identification card or a so-called token. Billing, for instance, is performed monthly via a connected billing system such as SAP or other industry-specific billing systems with the corresponding interfaces.

VMMS supports all types of goods that can be sold via vending machines. The solution provides the necessary interfaces for data exchange and a flexible hardware platform to promote new digital business processes. VMMS can be flexibly integrated into any environment and supplemented by special hardware such as barcode readers and keyboards. Input devices, such as an NFC reader, can be added to identify the user, for instance. The integration of billing systems is also possible. Materna has partnerships with leading vending machine manufacturers and provides comprehensive turnkey solutions.

Solutions for the vending industry from Materna

Vending telemetry

Manage more vending machines with the same resources with Materna vending solutions

The optimum management of vending machines is your daily business and we provide successful support. Materna's Vending Machine Monitoring System (VMMS) is an effective combination of software, communication technology and a telemetry module. This provides you with cost advantages, data security and a huge range of services. VMMS shows you all the important information about sales and the status of your vending machines so that you as a vending machine operator can achieve the greatest possible increase in efficiency with regard to product sales, route optimization and personnel planning. We support all conventional vending machine types and payment methods, such as credit cards via card readers or alternative payment methods, such as employee cards and tokens.

The telemetry module can be easily installed in almost any existing machine type and collects the data available in the machine. This data is read out, compressed and encrypted via standardized interfaces. This exchange of information takes place via various protocols, such as Executive, MDB, BDV001 and EVA-DTS. Data is transmitted via GSM at regular intervals, but also whenever a special event occurs so that you are automatically and directly alerted when errors occur.

The information is then collected in Materna's own certified data center and made available exclusively to you in your web frontend or in existing external applications (e.g. ERP systems). On request, you can receive various statistics and reports that provide valuable information about the efficiency of your vending machines and help you optimize the products in the machines and adapt them to your sales.

How we help you with our vending solutions

We provide holistic support: from consulting, to the correct selection of hardware and hardware procurement, system integration (e.g. in existing systems such as SAP), the best SIM card tariff selection, as well as data collection and preparation and the transfer of data to your applications and IT systems.

Your advantages with a telemetry solution at a glance

Increased efficiency: You operate more machines with your existing employees.

Reliability: You avoid empty machines or unnecessary trips to the machines.

Availability: You are able to respond quicker in the event of malfunctions.

Predictive maintenance: You can better plan and monitor maintenance intervals and prevent breakdowns, for example in the case of wear parts.

Communication via WhatsApp

Communicate with your customers via WhatsApp at the vending machine

Give your customers the opportunity to submit service cases via WhatsApp. This is made possible via Materna's messaging solution.

More than 800 million people worldwide use the communications service WhatsApp. WhatsApp is a well-established solution for the fast and easy transmission of information and the exchange of information in groups. The service is also ideally suited for use in customer service. Young people hardly ever use a mobile phone for making phone calls anymore – instead they use WhatsApp to communicate with one another.

Imagine the following scenario: A customer is in front of your vending machine at the train station and the machine does not dispense the sold goods. With Materna's new service, your customer can open a service ticket via WhatsApp. To do this, he simply photographs the error display on the machine or the product stuck in the machine and transmits it, for example, with further pictures explaining the problem. The message reaches your service staff directly in the e-mail program (e.g. Microsoft Outlook) and can be read and answered there. The customer receives the reply from your service employee again via WhatsApp on their mobile phone.

This approach simplifies the entire service case, reduces response times and increases customer satisfaction. It’s fast, convenient and customer-friendly.